Fallout – Smackdown Live Recap – 12/19/2017

Hold on to your hats because Smackdown is in New Jersey.  Newark, hometown of Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore, houses our Live Smackdown for the evening.  We’re coming off Clash of Champions, so if you didn’t watch or read the recap just yet, I’ll warn you, there are obvious spoilers here.  Let’s get this thing underway.

Appetizers

Daniel Bryan opens to express his appreciation for the announcement that the Women’s Division would be getting their own Royal Rumble match.  I wouldn’t anticipate his wife, Brie, participating as she’s still a relatively new mom.  He then announces that our main event for the evening would be Jinder Mahal, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn against AJ Styles, Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura.  That’s huge.

Shane joins him in the ring so the two can discuss the events of Clash of Champions.  Here’s your spoiler: Daniel Bryan fast counted the pinfall and the team of Zayn and Owens are still employed.

Shane explained that he couldn’t bring himself to hit the three count when Zayn had a pin on Randy Orton because it was what he thought was in the best interest of business.  “Best for Business” is something Daniel Bryan is quite used to hearing from The Authority, and he fears Shane is turning into Vince.  He informs the commissioner that if that is where this is headed, to go ahead and fire him because he wasn’t going to stand by and watch it come to pass.  Shane confesses his deepest respect for Daniel Bryan and bids him good luck on the show tonight before seemingly leaving for the evening.

Yams and Cranberry Sauce

Ok, so I’m excited for Christmas food, but here’s what Smackdown Live brought to the table for us this evening between our soft open and our huge main event:

• American Alpha Redux defeated The Usos.  Apparently this is what we’re stuck with for a while.  For as good as three of these guys are, I have zero interest in anything having to do with Shelton Benjamin, so I wrapped presents for the most part during this one.  The Usos did what they could to keep it entertaining, but couldn’t get the win.
• A video package of Stephanie McMahon announcing the Women’s Royal Rumble leads to Charlotte in the ring, issuing the best of luck for the fellow Smackdown Women, because she’ll be waiting at Wrestlemania to defend her title.
• Naomi joins the conversation to announce she is the first woman putting her hat in the ring for the Rumble.  The Riott Squad comes out (and they’ll undoubtedly be in the Rumble as well), but Naomi trash talks them into a tag match.  Naomi and Charlotte defeated the Riott Squad clean via pinfall.
• In a promotional segment for WWE Shop merchandise, Rusev Claus and Frosty English serenade the New Day and challenge them to a match, then Rusev destroys E’s pancakes, so they accept.
• Dolph Zig…..what the hell am I doing, this is the United States Champion……

Dolph Ziggler Celeb…Gloats About Being the United States Champion….wait, what are you doing?  No, Dolph.  What are you doing?

Dolph walks out to no entrance music as could be expected, then proceeds to talk about how he’s stepped up to every challenge he’s faced in his twelve years, including Sunday night as he captured his second United States Championship.

He reminded all the haters of his accolades, including the two US titles, five Intercontinental Championships, and his successful Money in the Bank cash in to become the WWE Champion.  But years of being unappreciated have weighed on him, and since we’re not worthy, he’s going to give us something to remember him by, laying the championship in the middle of the ring and walking away without it.

Did Dolph just retire?  Has Smackdown just randomly lost both Dolph Ziggler and Natalya to retirement?  I’m so confused.

Back to The Side Dishes

• Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn are still playing to Daniel Bryan’s past, trying to remind him that Randy Orton is the weapon of Shane McMahon, much like he was the weapon of the Authority against the leader of the Yes! Movement on his way to winning the championship.  Bryan isn’t having it, as he’s not going to do anything to have his integrity questioned.
• Gingerbread Kingston and Rudolph Woods w/ Big Elf at ringside take on Rusev Claus and Frosty English in a Christmas Battle.  The match eventually had an array of deserts involved, including English being planted face first into a giant plate of whipped cream pancakes, before Rudolph Woods took to the top rope and got the pinfall over Rusev.  It’s still Rusev Day.

The Main Course

Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura and WWE Champion AJ Styles vs Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Jinder Mahal

You want to talk about entrances getting a massive pop, all three of those guys get one.  Sami and Owens get sort of a mixed response, as marks love them and kids don’t.  Jinder gets booed something fierce.

The match goes about how you’d expect for a six man tag match featuring six top guys on the roster.  Lots of hot tags, everybody hits their signature moves, a handful of extra painful looking spots.  You know how this works.

I’m going to log this into the record now, so that it’s already established down the line.  Shinsuke Nakamura will win the Royal Rumble and challenge AJ Styles at Wrestlemania on his way to winning his first WWE Championship.

Nak was setting up Zayn for the Kinshasa but the Singh Brothers hit him from behind.  Though they were tossed, Randy Orton would hit an RKO on Jinder before hitting a double through the rope DDT.  AJ hit a Phenomenal Forearm to take out Kevin Owens with an added emphasis from Orton, then Nakamura would finally get his Kinshasa on Zayn, as Nakamura pins Sami Zayn as Shinsuke Nakamura, AJ Styles and Randy Orton win.

Overall Reaction:

I was hoping for something more out of the Daniel Bryan-Shane McMahon thing, but I’m ok with it slowly festering for a bit.  It is a long road to Wrestlemania after all.  Fairly good show.  Would have preferred Rusev-English vs New Day without all the cheesy Christmas gimmick stuff.

Newark was a good crowd, not outrageous like I would have expected.  So let’s go watch 205 Live, and see if they go insane for the homegrown hero Enzo Amore (that’s an odd sentence to type).